Isn't this just a specific example of the same problem that comes up in many contexts with conref?
For example using the same setup as in the original example, but with somewhat more content:
<topicref id="tr-01" href="../topics/topic-01.dita" >
<topicref href="../topics/topic-01.dita" />
</topicref>
If tr-01 is conrefed, should the two @href values reference to the same file or not?
I assume that the presence or absence of processing-role="resource-only" doesn't make any difference here, but if I've missed something, please let me know.
Unless I've misunderstood something, I just don’t think that this is an issue that we can take on at this late stage of the DITA 1.2 cycle.
Note that if this were a key definition (it isn't), then the answer would be clear because the draft DITA 1.2 specification says:
A relative URI in an href attribute on a key definition is resolved relative to the location of the key definition rather than relative to the location of the key reference.
-Jeff
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